About horses and horse ownership by two women who own horses and live in the midwest of the United States.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Whats Changed ** Number 3 Elections **

It would be easy when talking about the election process to consider we have not seen changes ,
the same basic premise still applies that has for years, potential candidates are required to stand in a fair and free election for the right to represent the people who elect them, this applies to all forms of Government.

Whats Changed

More than we realize

1. Most elections now require formal Proof of ID

2. Voting District Boundaries are changed and put in place by those currently in power hoping to give them an edge in the demographics for the next set of elections

3. The amount of money spent during elections has increased by higher and higher multiples each election cycle, these increases have happened in both direct by the party / Candidate and indirect via non disclosed groups of supporters

So how do these changes influence Election Results

1a. By requiring Formal Proof of ID it is likely to most effect the lowest earners in society who will be less likely to vote. ( Little real wide spread impact if the country wants major change )
My own view on this is formal proof of ID should have been written in from the very beginning to stop voter fraud so although this has had and will continue to have an effect, the gains I believe outweigh the losses.

2a The Voting District Boundaries have been used for many years, the difference now is that due to increased computing power for analysis it is much more likely to be effective in it's goals. ( Little real wide spread impact if the country wants major change )

3a "Money has equaled Power" and "Power has equaled Money" for as long as we have had politics, but Money used for mass advertising to the electorate can and does make a difference in results.

Just think of why companies advertise a brand of detergent because it works

With the large increases required to mount a political campaign it is now impossible to compete unless you have millions of dollars in both direct contributions or you know organisations will run adds that will help your campaign directly or indirectly, these type of $$$$$$ are impossible to get from the ordinary voter which leaves the potential candidate ( Whichever Party ) only one option to get it from Big Business , Now the reality is Big Business are not charities so if they are donating hundreds of thousands of $$$$$ either directly or indirectly it is not because they are super caring but because they hope to get something back in return.

You may wonder sometimes why the media has not picked up on this and exposed the issues , pretty easy answer ( Media relies on Advertising for profits so highly unlikely they will highlight the problems ).

So who is mostly affected by this major change ( The General Voting Public ) because it is more likely the representative you elect will support or not support bills, changes etc. that reflect his / her large donors than the voters he represents ( If he or she doesn't support those donors) they will not get the funds required next time round to seek election.

The other direct outcome of the current election funding and the increase in advertising is the growth of negative advertising of candidates rather than positive advertising.

So if those in power do or don't admit it, they are no longer "Of the people by the people for the people" but better described as "Of the people by the people for whoever paid the most money to secure their future"

The influx of money causes major wide spread impact if the country wanted major change, if you spend enough on negative campaigns about the opposition party pretty soon those who wanted change can be convinced the opposition is no better .

I would be interested to hear from those who agree or disagree with my views, I have tried to keep these non political i.e. party based because I do not think they are primarily party related.

1 comment:

The influence of money in our political process has gotten out of control. The Supreme Court did not help by ruling that corporations are people -- that really opened the door for businesses to gain influence on our laws thru campaign donations. Campaigns have become so expensive, the candidates have to be concerned about money 1st, and constituents a distant 2nd.